His lawyer intends to argue that Gurney was delusional and did not understand that his actions were wrong when he killed Zoe Sarnacki in May 2009. His attorney says a psychotic episode stemming from a personality disorder, stress and withdrawal from an opiate painkiller is the likely explanation for the killing.

Prosecutors argue that the 30-year-old Gurney showed that he could act with rationality the day of the killing.